diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 35569262..2690be35 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+- Added alphabetical sorting to the "Select Project" dropdown (https://github.com/nbclaudecodegui/NetbeansClaudeCodeGui/issues/21)
 - Fixed Default profile settings (API key, connection type, proxy, etc.) not being saved when edited in Tools → Options → Claude Code → Profiles
 - Fixed MCP config not working on Windows due to quote stripping in CreateProcess (https://github.com/nbclaudecodegui/NetbeansClaudeCodeGui/issues/13)
 - Improved error panel on process start failure: shows Working Directory and CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR fields (before Command and Error) for easier diagnosis; all fields have a right-click Copy menu; fixed "Restart Advanced…" not dismissing the error panel
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 76c0ac7c..69c8dd62 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
     <groupId>io.github.nbclaudecodegui</groupId>
     <artifactId>netbeans-claude-code-gui</artifactId>
-    <version>0.21.40-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <version>0.21.41-SNAPSHOT</version>
     <packaging>nbm</packaging>
     <name>Netbeans Claude Code GUI</name>
     <description>NetBeans plugin that provides a GUI for Claude Code CLI — run claude code sessions directly inside the IDE.</description>
diff --git a/src/main/java/io/github/nbclaudecodegui/ui/ClaudeSessionSelectorPanel.java b/src/main/java/io/github/nbclaudecodegui/ui/ClaudeSessionSelectorPanel.java
index 2653cc81..6de68d64 100644
--- a/src/main/java/io/github/nbclaudecodegui/ui/ClaudeSessionSelectorPanel.java
+++ b/src/main/java/io/github/nbclaudecodegui/ui/ClaudeSessionSelectorPanel.java
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.nio.file.Path;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Comparator;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 import java.util.prefs.Preferences;
@@ -494,7 +496,13 @@ private void populateProjectCombo() {
         DefaultComboBoxModel<ProjectItem> cbModel = new DefaultComboBoxModel<>();
         cbModel.addElement(new ProjectItem(null,
                 NbBundle.getMessage(ClaudeSessionSelectorPanel.class, "LBL_SelectProject")));
-        for (Project p : OpenProjects.getDefault().getOpenProjects()) {
+        // Sort projects alphabetically (case-insensitive) so the user can find
+        // their project quickly regardless of the order NetBeans returns them.
+        Project[] projects = OpenProjects.getDefault().getOpenProjects();
+        Arrays.sort(projects, Comparator.comparing(
+                p -> ProjectUtils.getInformation(p).getDisplayName(),
+                String.CASE_INSENSITIVE_ORDER));
+        for (Project p : projects) {
             cbModel.addElement(new ProjectItem(p,
                     ProjectUtils.getInformation(p).getDisplayName()));
         }
diff --git a/src/test/java/io/github/nbclaudecodegui/ui/ClaudeSessionSelectorPanelTest.java b/src/test/java/io/github/nbclaudecodegui/ui/ClaudeSessionSelectorPanelTest.java
index 0f723191..fff5ec92 100644
--- a/src/test/java/io/github/nbclaudecodegui/ui/ClaudeSessionSelectorPanelTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/io/github/nbclaudecodegui/ui/ClaudeSessionSelectorPanelTest.java
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Comparator;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;
@@ -157,6 +159,36 @@ void resolveTabLabelNonProjectDirReturnsFallback() throws IOException {
         }
     }
 
+    // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+    // Project combo sorting (issue #21)
+    // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    /**
+     * Verifies that the comparator used in {@code populateProjectCombo()} sorts
+     * project names case-insensitively.  The test stands in for the full UI
+     * flow (which requires a live NetBeans module system) and confirms that
+     * the sorting algorithm itself is correct.
+     */
+    @Test
+    void projectComboSortIsCaseInsensitive() {
+        String[] names = {"Zebra", "apple", "Banana", "cherry"};
+        Arrays.sort(names, Comparator.comparing(s -> s, String.CASE_INSENSITIVE_ORDER));
+        assertArrayEquals(new String[]{"apple", "Banana", "cherry", "Zebra"}, names,
+                "Projects must be sorted alphabetically, case-insensitive");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void projectComboSortIsStableForEqualCaseNames() {
+        String[] names = {"Beta", "alpha", "ALPHA", "beta"};
+        Arrays.sort(names, Comparator.comparing(s -> s, String.CASE_INSENSITIVE_ORDER));
+        // All alpha-variants before beta-variants; relative order within a group
+        // is preserved (Arrays.sort is stable).
+        assertEquals("alpha", names[0].toLowerCase(),
+                "First group must be 'alpha' variants");
+        assertEquals("beta", names[2].toLowerCase(),
+                "Second group must be 'beta' variants");
+    }
+
     // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
     // History persistence helpers
     // -------------------------------------------------------------------------